Miles From Where You Are
by Don't Try To Change My Melody
Summary: REWRITE! I've been messing with this rewrite for awhile now, and finally decided to start posting it. Original story has been taken down. What if Emily had a younger sister who also joined the FBI? This is the story of that sister, Katlyn Prentiss. Starts when she is in the FBI Academy, which is set around Season 3 of Criminal Minds.
1. Prologue- Where It All Begins

**Prologue: Where It All Begins**

" _This is where you fall._

 _This is where you get up._

 _This is where it all begins"_

 _"Where It All Begins" Hunter Hayes ft. Lady Antebellum_

Twenty-five year old Katlyn Prentiss stood, trying not to let her nervousness show, as she and her classmates waited for their shooting instructor to arrive. Petite, with wide brown eyes, Katlyn was one of maybe thirty to forty girls in this group of 200 FBI Academy trainees.

Katlyn was surprised when their instructor walked into the room. He was younger than any of her instructors so far, probably in his late twenties, and incredibly good looking. He surveyed the group for a few moments before speaking.

"I'm Agent Mick Rawson, I will be your shooting instructor for the next ten weeks. Now, this will focus mainly on shooting a hand gun, depending on your skill level, some of you may spend some time working with the rifles as well," he said, his voice containing an obvious British lilt.

"Are we past the point where it's acceptable to have major crush's on teachers?" her roomate, Illana, who stood beside her, asked.

"We were until he walked into the room," Katlyn mused, eyes not leaving Agent Rawson.

"Now, I've set the room up today to where there should be two of you at each table, I want you to open the box in front of you and take out the diagram and handgun inside. I want the two of you to take turns simply assembling and disassembling the firearm. I'll be circling the room to see how you're coming along."

Katlyn removed the contents of the box and held them out to Illana, "You can start if you want? I've already got a fairly firm grasp on it."

Illana, who was more schooled in hand to hand combat, struggled the first couple times, but by the time Agent Rawson reached them, she was moving at a pretty good speed. Illana passed the gun to Katlyn, who disassembled it and reassembled it with ease. She just wished the rest of her training came to her as easy.

"Well you girls seem to have a pretty good grasp on things. I take it you've done this before?"

"Actually, no," Illana said, "But, after the second time pulling it apart, I was able to get a pretty good grasp on how it all fit together."

"What about you…" his eyes flicked to the lanyard containing her Academy ID card, "...Katlyn?"

"A friend of my mother's taught me to shoot when I was fifteen."

"You're pretty familiar with this then. Well, good job, ladies," he said with a smile, before moving to the next table.

"How are we supposed to maintain concentration when he looks and smiles like that?" Illana whined softly.

"Simple, because we want this." Katlyn said, refusing to let anything or anyone distract her from her goal.

Later that evening, Katlyn found herself sitting on her bed, researching Agent Rawson.

"What'cha doin'?" Illana asked, flopping down on the end of her bed.

Due to the number of female students, Katlyn shared a room with just Illana, versus the normal three other people. Katlyn had been surprised by Illana when they'd first met. The red head was very exuberant, and hadn't come off very serious, but Katlyn had quickly discovered she was incredibly smart and also a skilled fighter.

Katlyn glanced up from her tablet, "Research," she said vaguely.

"You're totally cyber stalking Rawson aren't you?" she teased, "Don't feel bad, I did it too."

"I wonder what would make him leave the Special Forces and become an FBI instructor?"

"I don't know. I found it kind of strange too. Think he'd get mad if we asked him?"

Katlyn raised an eyebrow, "Then we'd have to admit we cyber stalked him."

Illana wrinkled her nose, "This is a good point."

 **Three Days Later**

Katlyn ran along one of the trails behind the academy, she'd gotten out of classes and wasn't in the mood to head back to her room. She'd already run about a mile and stopped to readjust her IPOD, which had fallen loose from the clip on her waistband. When a hand touched her shoulder, she jumped, not having realized anyone was behind her. She turned to see Agent Rawson standing there, and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"I apologize for startling you. I called out but..." he reached out and tugged at one of her earbuds.

She laughed, "I just wasn't feeling much like going back to my room yet."

"It's a good way to clear your head," he said.

"The music or the running?"

"Both, really," he said with a laugh, "Since I have you here, I was wanting to talk to you and a couple of your classmates about something."

"What's that?" she asked, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

"There are a few of you that are already quite proficient with firearms. I've already got permission from the higher ups, how would you feel about doing some training with a sniper rifle?"

Katlyn grinned, "That would be awesome."

Her answering smile had caused Mick to smile as well, Katlyn realized she both needed to find ways to make him smile more, and avoid doing so at all cost, his smile was intoxicating.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by, and before Katlyn knew it she had already completed five of the ten weeks of training. It was hard work, but she was excited for the work she was doing and couldn't wait to go to classes each day. The work load was stressful, and Katlyn had taken to running almost every evening after classes. She regularly bumped into Agent Rawson during her runs, and most of the time they ended up running together, something that didn't help her growing crush on the instructor.

"So, tell me about yourself, Katlyn," he asked casually one afternoon, after they'd slowed to a walk to cool off.

"I'm really not that interesting, but what do you want to know?"

"What made you decide to join the FBI?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy, but parent's day in the third grade. One of my classmate's dad was an agent, Missing Children, he mostly talked to us about stranger danger and all that, but he also talked about how wonderful an experience it was when they got to bring a child home. It just clicked for me, I knew I wanted to know what that feeling was like for myself, to be able to help someone like that."

"I have to say, that's pretty impressive for an eight year old, most still want to be rockstars or princesses."

Katlyn laughed, "I've never been geared that way. Maybe it was because my mom was a foreign diplomat and trying to raise us as a single mother...I guess I always knew rockstar and princess weren't real options."

"So, you grew up fast then?"

She nodded, "Always act mature, you never knew who mom was going to bring home for dinner. What about you?" she asked glancing over, "What's a Brit doing teaching at an American FBI academy?"

"When I was British Special Forces, I met a man named Sam Cooper, he's an American FBI agent now, he was US military then. He's putting together a team and wanted me on it, so I came here, got certified, now I'm doing this until he gets the team off the ground."

Katlyn smiled, "That sounds pretty exciting."

"Yeah, though I have to be honest about something. I'm enjoying teaching a lot more than I thought I would. I'll be sad to leave it."

"I'm sure the school will be sad to see you go. You're a great teacher, those of us who have had you, are lucky."

"Aww..are you trying to make me cry, Ms. Prentiss?"

Katlyn laughed and playfully pushed his shoulder. She was surprised when he draped an arm around her shoulder for the rest of the walk back.

As soon as she got back to her room, she sat down on the end of Illana's bed.

"Something weird just happened," she said.

Illana looked up from the paper she was working on, "What's up?"

"I went for a run after class, like always, and ended up running with Agent Rawson..."

"Like always," Illana chimed in.

"We were walking the last like half mile to cool down, and he asked about why I wanted to become an FBI Agent, and I used that as an excuse to ask what had brought him to America….apparently he's only at the academy temporarily and I said that those of us who had gotten him while he was, were lucky."

"Nicely done," Illana grinned, "But what about that's weird?"

"He ended up putting his arm around my shoulders for the rest of the walk."

Illana's eyes widened, "Maybe he likes you."

"He's our teacher."

"So? You two have also ended up spending _a lot_ of time together outside of class."

"As running partners, that's it."

"Or so you thought," Illana teased.

Katlyn lay backwards across the foot of the bed, "No distractions, I swore there would be no distractions."

"But he would be a _really_ good distraction," Illana teased.

Katlyn grabbed a pillow and put it over her face, "I know! That's what's making this so hard!"

" _You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you don't want to feel." Unknown  
_

The next three weeks did nothing to give Katlyn answers. Her interactions with Agent Rawson were the same as they'd always been, with the occasional mildly affectionate gesture, and that was it. Katlyn convinced herself that he was just more comfortable around her and that was it.

The last two weeks of her time at the academy were crazy. With final testing and qualification rounds, she was running on empty. She was thankful to have Illana to bounce things off of, because they weren't really allowed contact with anyone outside the school. Which was why one of the administrators coming to her room to tell her she had a phone call immediately concerned her.

She followed the woman to a small office, and picked up the phone.

"This is Katlyn.."

"Katlyn, sweetheart, it's mom. It's so good to hear your voice. How are you?"

Katlyn smiled, glad to hear her mother's voice as well, "I'm good, tired, but good. I'll be glad when next week gets here."

"I'm so proud of you, angel. You've done so well. I have bad news though, I'm not going to be able to make it to the graduation, a situation has come up, and I have to go over seas for awhile, I leave tomorrow."

Katlyn tried not to let her disappointment color her voice, "It's fine mom, really. I don't think they're going to make a huge deal of it anyways."

"I just hate I'm going to miss it. I tried to put this off but there's no way."

"It's fine, we'll celebrate when you get back."

"Of course, sweetheart."

Graduation day finally arrived, Katlyn stood talking to Illana and her family, when Mick approached them.

"Ladies, I just wanted to come over here and congratulate the two of you. The FBI is going to have two fantastic new agents."

Katlyn and Illana both smiled, "Thank you," Katlyn said, surprising herself by stepping forward and giving her instructor a hug.

Illana introduced Agent Rawson to her family, causing him in turn to tell Katlyn he'd love to meet hers.

Katlyn forced a small smile, "If any of them were here, I'd be happy to introduce you. My dad isn't in the picture though, and my mother had a work thing she couldn't get out of. But it's no big deal, Illana's family has decided to adopt me, for the night at least."

He laughed, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Well, I'm glad of that, but I hate none of your family was able to come. You've done amazing, they should be proud, I am."

Katlyn was taken aback by the last words he spoke, and couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter 1- New Places, Old Faces

**Chapter 1: New Places, Old Faces- Two Years Later**

" _Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be." George Sheehan_

Katlyn's phone woke her at eight. She now worked for the Missing Persons division of the FBI, they'd closed a particularly grueling case the night before and she was exhausted, so the early call wasn't welcome.

"Agent Prentiss," she said, picking up the phone, hoping she didn't sound too groggy.

"Is this Katlyn Prentiss?" a man asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Ms. Prentiss, this is Aaron Hotchner, I'm the unit chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit..."

Katlyn still couldn't believe she's been transferred to the BAU, it was made up of some of the most elite agents the FBI had, and she'd never in a million years thought she would make the team, especially after only being an agent for two years. Here she was though, sitting across from Aaron Hotchner and her new mentor, David Rossi, who had been one of the original members of the BAU.

"I just have one more question to ask you, before we introduce you to the rest of the team. Are you related to Emily Prentiss?"

"She's my sister, why?"

"Did you know she was a member of this team?"

Katlyn shook her head, "No, sir. We haven't spoken since I was...sixteen."

Hotchner raised an eyebrow, "Is that going to be a problem? You two working together?"

"Not for me."

He nodded, "Good. Dave, take Ms. Prentiss to the conference room, I'll get everyone else."

Rossi stood with her at the head of the room as everyone else filed in. He must have sensed her nervousness, and she was thankful for the reassuring hand he placed on her shoulder in response.

"Don't worry, kid, you'll be fine," he whispered.

She nodded as a tall, gangly guy came in, followed by a brunette woman, her sister. Her sister's face registered a brief look of shock and then went stony. Once everyone else filed in, Agent Hotchner made his way to the front of the room to stand with her and Agent Rossi.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Katlyn Prentiss, she's going to be joining our team. Katlyn, this is Penelope Garcia, our tech analyst," he pointed out a brightly dressed blonde in glasses, "Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, and of course, you know Emily."

She saw a couple eyebrows raise at the statement that she knew Emily.

"I'm Emily's little sister," she said, answering the unasked question.

There was another brief moment of shocked looks, before everyone made there way up to personally greet her.

"Surprise!" she grinned, when she finally made her way to Emily.

"Surprise is right," her sister replied stiffly, "You couldn't have given me some heads up? Why are you here?"

"It's good to see you too, Em. I'm great, you?" she replied sarcastically, "Agent Hotchner called and offered me the position, it was a once in a lifetime chance, so I took it. We haven't talked in years, I didn't know you were on the team until Agent Hotchner told me a few minutes ago."

"So, what did mom have to do to set this up?"

Katlyn rolled her eyes, "Mom had nothing to do with this, she doesn't even know yet. It may be a surprise to you, but I'm actually pretty good at my job."

"Right," Emily said, obviously disbelieving.

Agent Hotchner walked over, ending their conversation for the time being.

"Katlyn, Derek and Spencer are going to go help you get a desk set up."

Katlyn smiled, "Great. Thank you again for this opportunity, Agent Hotchner."

Hotchner gave a curt nod, "You have made quite a reputation for yourself, we're glad to have you."

Katlyn followed Agents Reid and Morgan to a supply closet, and helped them haul a desk out. Once they had it set down, the woman who had been introduced as Penelope Garcia came over to see if Derek could help her with something, leaving her with Spencer.

"Spencer, how long have you been with the BAU?" she asked.

"Six years," he said, sitting down at the desk next to hers.

Spencer had said he was twenty-seven when they'd spoken briefly upstairs, which confused her, "How did you get through the academy by the time you were twenty-one?"

"I graduated high school when I was twelve. I already had three PhD's when I joined."

Katlyn was silent for a moment, waiting for him to start laughing. "You're serious?" she asked, when he didn't.

Spencer nodded, "My IQ is 187."

"So you're a genius.." she said, just as he launched into a speech about genius not being able to be accurately quantified.

As he was talking, her eyes fell to a picture on his desk, it was of the team and four other people in what looked like a warehouse. What surprised her, was one of those people was Mick Rawson.

"Spencer, where was this taken?" she asked, running a finger along the frame.

He glanced over, "San Francisco. Those four..," he quickly pointed them out, "are part of a BAU red cell team there. Why do you ask?"

"I know him," she said, her finger resting on Mick's image, "He was my shooting instructor at the academy."

She hadn't seen Mick since she left the academy, she'd thought of him several times and almost looked him up, but had never gotten the nerve.

" _So many questions still need an answer_

 _Two years later you're still on my mind."_

 _"Someday We'll Know" Mandy Moore_

Katlyn couldn't believe she'd been a part of the BAU for two weeks. Her relationship with Emily hadn't gotten any better, but she'd put it aside, not wanting to let it effect her at work. As she walked across the parking lot, she found herself feeling antsy about the day, Hotch had apparently heard impressive things about her shooting ability and wanted to take her to the range and see if she lived up to the talk. She knew she shouldn't worry, she'd had a great teacher, both when she was young, and at the academy.

She'd just entered the reception area to head upstairs when a voice called out from behind her.

"Excuse me, miss,"

Katlyn froze for half a second, the voice familiar enough to stop her in her tracks. She turned, an involuntary smile crossing her lips as soon as she saw his face. He looked as surprised to see her as she was him.

"Looks like it's my lucky day," he said with a grin.

She felt herself blush, his smile...and accent, still drove her crazy. Her pulse had picked up as soon as her eyes had met his.

"I thought you were in California?" she asked, walking towards him.

"Are you stalking me, love?"

Katlyn sighed, "No, I saw a picture with you in it, and inquired about it. Spencer told me."

"Reid?" his eyes widened, "Are you with the BAU?"

Katlyn grinned and flashed her badge.

He closed the distance between them and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around, "I told you you would be a great agent."

"Mick?" Mick sat Katlyn on her feet, glancing over as Emily approached them.

"You girls just can't get over me," he said with a playful grin, glancing between the two sisters.

Katlyn laughed, giving him a playful shove, "It's impossible. We'd have to move to another continent, just to escape your ego."

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked as she reached them.

"We need your help with another case," he said, holding up the folder in his hand.

Emily nodded, "So, you two know each other?"

Mick put his hands on Katlyn's shoulders, "I taught her everything she knows about firing a gun, she's forever indebted to me."

Katlyn scoffed, "In your dreams, pretty boy. I was shooting a gun long before you."

"She's so mean to me," he false whined.

The three headed up stairs and Katlyn settled at her desk, while Mick went to talk to Hotch and JJ about the case. She looked up from a report she was finishing when Emily sat down on the corner of her desk.

"Do you intend to insinuate yourself into every corner of my life?" her sister asked bluntly.

"Excuse me?"

"First my team, now Mick, you truly amaze me."

"Here we go again," Katlyn sighed, "Are you two together or something?"

"We met working a case together three months ago, but no we're not _together."_

"Then what's the problem?" she asked raising an eyebrow, "Mick was my teacher at the academy, well before you even knew him."

"That embrace looked like more than something a teacher would give a student," she said, before storming off.

So obviously Emily had feelings for Mick, major ones, judging by the way she'd reacted. Great. like Emily needed another reason to hate her.

" _All this time I was wasting_

 _Hoping you would come around._

 _I've been giving out chances every time_

 _And all you do is let me down."_

 _"You're Not Sorry" Taylor Swift_


	3. Chapter 2- Unexpected Encounters

**Chapter 2: Unexpected Encounters**

" _I'm not running from  
_

 _No, I think you've got me all wrong_

 _I don't regret this life you chose for me."_

 _"Home" Daughtry_

"Guys, conference room," Hotch called from the top of the stairs.

JJ started as soon as they were seated, "You all remember Agent Rawson from San Francisco. Mick, this is Katlyn Prentiss, the newest member of our team."

"We know each other," he said with a cocky grin.

"Well since we're all acquainted..." JJ said, shooting a brief glance between Katlyn and Mick, before letting her eyes briefly linger on Emily, confirming Katlyn's suspicions, "In the past three weeks, five high powered, wealthy, San Francisco residents have died, all apparent suicides," she started, pressing a button on the remote so the pictures of the victims filled the screen.

"If they're suicides, why is the BAU involved?" Rossi asked.

"Apparent suicides. The angle of entry on two of the victims suggest otherwise.

"Not to mention, the likelihood of five suicides, in the same area and in members of the same social class, in that short of a time span, even in an area as populated as San Francisco, are incredibly small," Spencer chimed in.

"What exactly do you mean by high powered?" Emily asked.

"Alisha Summers, was a leading prosecutor, Cory Hayes and Michael Thompson were both private attorneys, William Carter a CEO of a major corporation, and Helen Johnson a cardiologist."

"Do they have anything in common besides obvious wealth and power?" Katlyn questioned.

JJ looked to Mick.

"Not that we've found, that's the problem," he answered.

"Wheels up in thirty," Hotch said.

Katlyn made her way to her desk, checked her go bag and grabbed her IPOD, shoving it in her pocket.

"Nervous?" Spencer asked from next to her.

"I shouldn't be, it's not like this is my first case as an agent or something."

"So what is it?"

Katlyn laughed, "I don't know...maybe it's the fact that Mick was one of my instructors in the academy, it's making me feel like I need to prove something."

Spencer smiled, "I felt the same way when I started and was working under Gideon. Just remember, you made it into the BAU, that proves you're good. You'll be fine, I promise."

Katlyn smiled, "Thanks Spencer."

They grabbed their bags and headed to the jet, once she'd stored hers, she sank into a seat and started to put earbuds in, glad that they'd already done the briefing, as her head was spinning.

"Mind if I sit?" Rossi asked, pointing to the seat next to her.

"Not at all," Katlyn said, wrapping the earbuds back around her IPOD.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

Katlyn shrugged, contemplating for a moment how much she wanted to confide in her mentor. She liked Rossi, but knew he was close with all the members of the team, including her sister.

"Things are good," she said finally, "I love working with the BAU...I guess I just hoped it would be some sort of insta-fix for mine and Emily's relationship and it hasn't been."

"Your sister has always been very closed off, I feel like there's a lot we don't know about her. I was very surprised when Hotch told me about bringing you to the team. Emily never once mentioned a sister to anyone. What happened between you two?"

Katlyn bit her lip, her eyes drifting briefly to where Mick, Emily and Derek sat talking a couple rows down.

"We were never really that close, we're sisters, but we were never really friends. When our father left it just seemed to strain our relationship more. Emily moved out when she was sixteen and that was just kind of it."

"If it's any consolation, I think she'll come around. Just try to be patient."

Katlyn smiled, "I am...I will. Thanks."

He smiled back, "Any time, kid."

He moved to go talk to Hotch, and almost as soon as he had, Mick took the seat he'd abandoned.

"When we were in the conference room, it kind of dawned on me that you and Emily were probably related, so I asked her about it just now..."

"And she told you she was unfortunately stuck with me for a sister and I was trying to ruin her life?" Katlyn replied jokingly.

"Not in those exact words, but it felt kind of implied. What happened?"

Katlyn ran a hand through her hair, "It's complicated...to say the least, Emily and I just haven't been close in a really long time, and are very different people."

"Emily and I worked pretty closely together last time your team was in San Francisco, her and I are a lot alike, strong willed, not afraid to go after what we want. The two of you are both a lot alike too, neither of you trust easily, there's a lot you don't talk about. That said, I'm more than happy to listen, if you want to talk about it."

"A lot of the things that drove us apart, aren't really my place to talk about," she glanced over at where Emily was now playing cards with Derek, Reid and JJ, she knew Emily was doing her best to listen to their conversation."

Mick followed her gaze, "Well if you change your mind..."

Katlyn reached over and briefly squeezed his hand, "I'll let you know."

The San Francisco BAU office was very different from what Katlyn was used to. The group was comprised of only four members, Sam Cooper, Gina LaSalle, Jonathan Simms (who everyone called Prophet), and Mick, and they ran things out of an old warehouse. Hotch and Cooper almost immediately started separating the two teams into groups and sending them out, Katlyn staying behind with Gina and JJ to work on a geographical profile.

They hadn't been working long, when a new file came through. JJ got on the phone dispatching part of the team to the new crime scene, while Katlyn and Gina examined the newest file. Katlyn had glanced over it twice, when something caught her attention.

"Gina, hand me Alisha Summers and Cory Hayes' files."

Gina handed the two files to her and she glanced over them, finding a connection to the new victim. She grabbed her phone and called Garcia, wanting to see if she could make anymore.

"Your girl here found the missing link," Gina called to Hotch when he arrived back, followed by most of the rest of the team.

"Really? What have we got?"

"The victims were all resuscitated following some sort of accident."

"How did we miss that?" Derek questioned, brow furrowed.

"It was only in two of the files, plus the new one, so I had Garcia run a check."

"So, we have an angel of death targeting a specific social class, those financially well off," Rossi said.

"I think we should split up, talk to families, see what circumstances surrounded the accidents. JJ, get ready for a press conference."

Katlyn was hyperaware of Mick standing behind her as she spoke to Alisha Summer's mother on the phone, setting up a time to meet with her.

"So where are we headed?" he asked, once she'd hung up.

"Her mother resides in Modesto," she said, turning to face him.

"And William Carter's business partner is in L.A." he sighed, "We're going to be on the road all day. Good thing you aren't the worst company in the world, Katlyn."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Of the highest order," he smirked.

She laughed, grabbing the files and following him out the door. They were about halfway across the parking lot when she became aware of his gaze on her.

"You're staring," she stated, not turning to face him.

"I was just thinking we had time to finish that conversation from the plane if you wanted?"

"I thought that was left at a "we could talk if I wanted to?"

"It was, I'm just curious about what happened between you two."

Katlyn laughed and glanced at him, "Emily wouldn't elaborate either, would she?"

"Not a word," he said as they got in the SUV.

"Our dad left when I was seven, Emily was thirteen, he told us that he couldn't live a life of politics anymore, but that he'd come see us all the time. Emily hated our mother for him leaving, told her that she put her job above her family, and that it was no wonder our father hated her, that she did too. It only got worse, our dad never came back, and Emily was convinced mom was keeping him away. She did everything a politician's daughter shouldn't, tried to make it as hard for mom as she could," she paused, wondering how to continue, "Emily has always had it in her head that I was the favorite child, and mom wouldn't care if she disappeared entirely. It wasn't true, of course, mom loved us both. She worried about Emily, but she never hated her. Fast forward, Emily apparently had to fight for her position in the BAU, and I get a call and am offered a spot, so she's convinced I'm trying to outdo her."

"So, you two are basically like strangers."

"Before I joined the BAU, we hadn't spoken since I was sixteen."

"Is that why you never mentioned her when we were at the academy? Did you even know she was in the FBI?" he asked.

"I knew, mom told me she joined, I didn't know what department though. I guess I just figured it was easier not to bring her up when she treats me like I don't exist. I thought it would have raised a lot of unnecessary questions."

"I can understand that."

When she'd been at the academy two years ago, she and Mick had spent a lot of time together, and she'd come to consider him a friend as well as an instructor. She'd also fallen hard for him, but that had been easy enough to put aside because once she'd left the academy she hadn't seen him again until now. She'd always felt comfortable around Mick, and wondered now if letting herself stray from a strictly student/teacher relationship had been a mistake. She thought of Illana, who she was still friends with, and she reminded herself to text her and let her know that she was working with their hot, British, ex teacher.

Katlyn and Mick headed down the steps of Alisha Summers' mother's house in Modesto, they now had an almost five hour drive ahead of them to L.A. It was just before eleven, so they would be there sometime around four, barring traffic. She glanced over at Mick who was on the phone, giving the information they'd gathered to Spencer.

"So, we're talking to William Carter's business partner in L.A., right?" she asked, once he'd hung up.

Mick nodded, "Yes, all his family is across the country. Mr. Webber knew him when the accident happened though. I spoke to him earlier, we're meeting him at his home."

Five and a half hours later they were in front of a large, two story, brick house. They hadn't even reached the door when it was opened by a man in his fifties. Katlyn's breath caught in her throat, the man may have been expecting them, but she certainly hadn't been expecting him.

"You must be Agent Rawson," the man said, reaching forward to shake his hand.

"Yes, sir. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us, this is Agent Katlyn Prentiss."

A brief look of surprise registered on Jonathan Webber's face, he gave Katlyn a small nod, before motioning them inside.

They ran through the facts of his friend's death, Katlyn studying him the entire time, in complete disbelief that he had not once acknowledged that his daughter sat across from him. It had been twenty years...twenty years and they had never received as much as a Christmas card from him, now here he was. Mick probably thought she'd lost her mind, she'd been practically mute through the whole interview.

"Jonathan, we're home!" a female voice called from the entryway, just before a woman about her father's age, and a girl who looked just slightly younger than Katlyn entered the room.

"Amber, Brittany, these are Agents Rawson and Prentiss, they're with the FBI. Agents, my wife, Amber and daughter, Brittany."

"It's nice to meet you both," Katlyn said, with a smile, shaking the older woman's hand.

"We won't take up anymore of your time," Mick said, rising to his feet, and making his way towards the door.

"I'll walk you out," Jonathan said, rising to his feet as well.

Once they were out on the porch, Katlyn turned to Mick, "I'll be right there," she said, allowing him to make his way down the walk before turning back to her father.

"You were just going to let me leave, weren't you?" she asked.

Her father closed his eyes, "Katlyn, this is a very complicated situation… Amber and Brittany, they don't know about you or your sister. She knows I was previously married, but she thought I was divorced when we met."

"Which you weren't."

"No...look, Katlyn, please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"So, choose the family you like best and pray the other never finds out? Is that how this works?"

"Katlyn…"

"Don't Katlyn me..." she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, "We didn't know if you were alive or dead...Emily hated mom, she thought she kept you from seeing us," she shook her head, "But no….you just wrote us off, well at least now I can do the same thing, write you off completely too," she said, storming down the steps to the SUV.

She was shaking by the time she got in the car. Mick was silent as he backed out of the driveway, but he reached over and took her hand, squeezing it lightly.

"What did he say that's got you so upset?" he asked after a few minutes.

"It's not important," she said, not wanting to bring him into anymore of her family drama.

"You'll understand if I don't believe that. You barely said two words the whole time we were there, and then confronted him alone, and whatever it was about, has you shaken."

Katlyn flipped her hand over underneath his, lacing their fingers together, "Jonathan Webber is my father," she said softly, "I recognized him as soon as he walked out the door."

"He didn't even act like he knew you," Mick said, his disbelief evident in his voice.

"That's what I confronted him about. His wife and daughter don't even know he has other children...he just wrote us off."

"He told you that?"

"Yes, he told me not to make things harder than they had to be," she said, voice rising in frustration, "I mean it's not like twenty years with no word from him wasn't hard on us or anything," her last words mingled with unwelcome tears.

Mick lifted his hand, still entwined with hers and ran the back of his along her cheek. She leaned into his touch, enjoying the closeness.

"Why would he do that?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know..." Mick said, eyes darting briefly to her, "I can't even begin to make sense of how someone just walks away from two daughters who love him and never looks back."

"I should tell Emily, shouldn't I?" she asked, looking over at him.

"She may go easier on your mother if she knew. It would probably give her some closure."

Katlyn text Emily as soon as they arrived at the hotel.

 _K- Are you still awake?_

 _E- Yes. Why?_

 _K- We need to talk._

 _E- Come to my room. JJ is watching a movie with Reid._

Katlyn knocked on her sister's door a few minutes later.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" she asked, studying her sister, as she stood back to let her inside.

"The business partner of William Carter's that we interviewed...was Jonathan Webber."

Emily stared at her, not putting it together right away. Katlyn watched her eyes widen as it registered.

"Dad! What did he say?"

Katlyn sat down on the end of the bed, "Nothing, he acted like he didn't even know who I was. I saw it register though when Mick introduced us. He has a wife and a daughter, they don't even know we exist."

Emily sat in the chair across from her, "I always thought mom kept him from visiting..." she said shaking her head, "But in reality he just moved from one family to another."

"I couldn't believe it, I just sat there mute through the whole interview."

Emily shook her head, "I can't believe this...Why…?"

"I don't know," Katlyn said softly.

"How could he do that...he had to know what losing him would do to us..."

"I guess he didn't care. He certainly didn't seem to when I asked him about it."

" _In the pain_

 _There is healing_

 _In your name_

 _I find meaning_

 _So I'm holding on_

 _I'm barely holding on to you."_

 _"Broken" Lifehouse_

Katlyn pulled her hair back in a ponytail and put on a headset and goggles. After leaving Emily, she'd drove to the police department's firing range, which they'd been more than happy to let her use since her team was there working a case. She pulled the headphones away enough to slide her earbuds in, it was after one in the morning, so she wasn't worried about someone trying to get her attention.

She knew going back to her room would have just given her too much time to think, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She didn't want to think about her father, or if this would be the start of mending her relationship with Emily, and she didn't want to think about Mick and her feelings for him. She raised her gun and aimed at the target, taking her frustrations out with each bullet, feeling the tension barely start to ebb away.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned quickly, her gun still raised in front of her. Mick stepped back, and she lowered the gun, sighing in relief as she sat the gun down and pulled of her safety gear.

"I called your name twice," he said.

"I had my IPOD on...I didn't expect anyone to come in as late as it is. You may want to wait until someone lowers their weapon or removes their headset next time, sneaking up on me, probably not the smartest move," she teased.

"Probably not," he laughed, "I tried your cell and I went by the hotel, Penelope said you hadn't come in yet, I figured knowing you, you'd be here. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'll be fine, I just got blindsided, I think I'm still in a little bit of shock."

"How did Emily take it?"

"Hurt, shock, not too differently from me. It's just hard knowing he wrote us off without a second thought."

Mick stepped forward and rested a hand on her cheek, "Just remember, I'm here if you need me."

He was too close, or maybe it was just her need to feel close to someone at that moment, what part of her took over, she wasn't sure, but she brought her lips to his without stopping to think. She felt a brief moment of hesitation before his free hand moved to her waist and she felt him respond.

Kissing him felt like someone had set her on fire, her arms circled his neck as she put as little space between them as possible. She had no idea how long they stayed like that, or when his hand left her face and moved to the back of her head, pulling her hair loose from it's elastic band and entwining in it. When they broke apart, they were both breathless.

"We should probably keep this quiet until the case is over at least," he said after a couple minutes.

She barely had time to nod before he was kissing her again.


	4. Chapter 3- What Are You Waiting For?

**Chapter 3: What Are You Waiting For?**

Day three of the case found them all in the warehouse, pouring over case files, trying to find the person all the victims had in common. They were frustrated. The victims had been treated at different hospitals and because they had all been ER, they'd had multiple doctors and nurses. Katlyn could tell her sister was distracted as she watched her run a hand through her hair for the fifth or sixth time. She knew the news she'd delivered about their father had gotten to her.

"I found her!" Derek called, "A nurse, Shannon Matthews, she worked at both hospitals and was there during the times of the victim's accidents."

Five minutes and a phone call to Garcia later, they had the full file on Shannon Matthews in their hand.

"Shannon Matthews is thirty-one, she has a registered gun matching the type used in the murders. Six months ago, her sister was brought into the ER while Shannon was on duty, she flat lined, they couldn't resuscitate." Derek read.

"So she's blaming everyone that they could." Rossi finished matter of factly.

"Lets go get her," Cooper said, throwing the folder down on the desk.

"Katlyn, take the rear exit, Mick the front, in case she tries to run," Hotch told them as they reached the apartment complex.

"Got it," she said, getting out of the SUV and heading around back.

She positioned herself out of sight, and waited. About ten minutes later, Hotch's all clear came over the radio. She wasn't there. Katlyn was about to move from her spot when the rear door opened. Katlyn drew her gun and stepped out.

"Shannon Matthews, FBI, we need to ask you some questions," she yelled.

The woman bolted. _Of course she's gonna run,_ Katlyn thought. She hit the radio to tell the team she was in pursuit and took off, following the woman into an abandoned building next door.

Gun in front of her, she pushed open the door, there was no one in sight.

"Shannon, it's over, come on out," she called.

She took a few steps to her left and turned to look again when she was hit from behind, sending them through a large glass window. They hit the ground hard, just as Derek and Mick came around the corner, followed closely by Spencer. Katlyn's head was splitting from where she'd hit the ground. Derek grabbed Shannon and pinned her to the ground as Spencer pulled the cuffs. Katlyn sat up slowly, stinging sensations covering her right arm.

Mick knelt down beside her, "There's this little thing called backup, it was invented for a reason," he teased lightly.

"I'm fine, thanks," she said, trying to get to her feet.

He reached out and took her mostly uninjured left arm and helped her to her feet. She could feel the warm, wet trickle of blood on her arm and head. Everything sounded far away and looked dim, she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

"She's going to need a medic," he said turning to Rossi, "There's glass all in her arm and she's losing a lot of blood."

By that point the rest of the team had reached them and were sorting things out.

"I need to sit down," she said, trying to pull from Mick's grasp.

"I've got you," he said helping her to sit down in one of the SUVs.

The ambulance got there in less than five minutes and the EMT began looking her over.

"We're going to take you in, do some x-rays," he said, "First, I'm going to get the glass out, though."

"Going to the hospital is completely unnecessary," she said, wincing as the glass came free of her arm.

"Humor me," Mick said taking her hand, "You could have a concussion." he turned to the EMT, "Can I ride along?"

"Of course," he said.

"You don't…" he put his finger to her lips.

"Shh. I'm going to tell everyone I'm going with you."

Forty-five minutes later she lay on the gurney in a trauma room, waiting on the x-ray results. Mick sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Feeling any better?"

"My head doesn't hurt too bad, my arm still stings though." she said, "Thank you for coming with me."

"Of course," he said leaning over and taking her hand in his.

She laced her fingers through his, not worried that whatever was going on between them was probably a bad idea, or the fact that any member of either of their teams could walk in at any minute.

" _I'll let you set the pace  
Cause I'm not thinking straight  
My head spinning around I can't see clear no more"_

" _Love Me Like You Do" Ellie Goulding_

On the ride back from the hospital, Katlyn found herself staring out the window, lost in thought. The case was over, the team was headed back to Quantico, she was leaving Mick. She let out an audible sigh. Why had she let herself get this invested? How had she gotten this invested in such a short amount of time?

"What's wrong, love?" he asked, having heard her sigh.

She couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. It was the first time he'd used a term of endearment with her.

"I think this is the first time I've ever been disappointed when a case was over," she said, turning her head to look at him, "I'm not really ready for things to go back to normal."

"Not completely normal," he said with a smirk, "You do have a sexy Brit as a boyfriend to shake things up."

Katlyn laughed, "Mick, we're going to be across from the country from each either."

Mick turned into the mostly empty parking lot of a small shopping center. He cut the engine before turning to face her.

"They make planes that solve that problem in a matter of a few hours."

"How long before that becomes too much? Before there's someone closer, more obtainable?"

"Maybe I don't want someone closer."

His words made her heart skip a beat. Somehow she'd never pegged Mick as a steady relationship person, more the type who thrived on one night stands. Her thoughts strayed though when he leaned across the seat and kissed her.

 **Emily** **'s POV**

JJ came over and sat down next to Emily, who was filling out papers.

"So case is over, you gonna make a move on the hot British dude?" she asked playfully.

Emily laughed, "I actually thought about it, but I don't think it would work, I mean there's just too much working against us."

"Chicken," JJ said giving her a small shove.

"It's not that I'm just…later," she said abruptly as Katlyn and Mick came in.

She made her way over to them, "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A little stiff, but otherwise I'm fine,"

Emily couldn't help noticing her sister seemed happier than she had in a long time, and wondered if it had anything to do with Mick, it was impossible to miss the way the two looked at each other. She tried to dismiss the frustration at the fact her sister had landed something else that Emily wanted. She had a second chance to mend her relationship with at least one family member, and knew she'd be crazy not to take it.

" _We'll have the days we break,  
And we'll have the scars to prove it,  
We'll have the bonds that we save,  
But we'll have the heart not to lose it._

 _For all of the times we've stopped,_  
 _For all of the things I'm not._

 _We put one foot in front of the other,_  
 _We move like we ain't got no other,_  
 _We go where we go, we're marching on."_

" _Marchin' On" One Republic_


	5. Chapter 4- I Learned The Hard Way

**Chapter 4: I Learned The Hard Way**

The following morning, Katlyn was putting the last of her belongings in her bag, and laughing as Penelope and Morgan bickered as he tried to zip her suitcase, about the ridiculous amount of gear she'd brought.

"I'd have rather it been clothes, baby girl. Then I could have at least pushed and shoved on them until this thing zipped," he sighed, "How did you even get it all packed in here?"

"Very carefully...and without those," she said, pointing to two black boxes on the bed. I bought those while we were here.

"Derek, hand them here," she said, just as someone knocked on their door, "I can get them in my bag."

Derek sighed in relief and passed the two pieces of technology to Katlyn, while Garcia opened the door.

"Hey, Em," she heard Garcia greet her sister.

"Hey," Katlyn could hear the uneasiness in her sister's voice and turned to see what was wrong.

She didn't even have time to get anything out of her mouth, upon seeing she had her sister's attention, Emily spoke again quickly, "I think we should stay behind another day," she said as they locked eyes.

"The whole team?" Derek asked, furrowing his brow.

"No...just me and Kait. We have a family thing we need to take care of."

"Is everything alright?" Garcia asked, her concern obvious.

"Yeah, nothing bad, just found out a family member we hadn't seen in a long time was nearby and wanted to pay him a visit." she explained, "I already cleared it with Hotch," she added, this statement directed at Katlyn.

"Great," Katlyn tried to hide the sarcasm in her voice. She knew her sister needed closure too, but wasn't looking forward to another round with her father.

Xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

Once the rest of the team left, Emily and Katlyn decided they'd make the drive to their father's office the next morning. Emily had left the hotel only a few minutes before to go pick up some clothes, she'd apparently gone through everything she'd brought with her. Katlyn decided to use the time alone to call Mick, hoping they could grab a drink together. She desperately needed to calm her nerves. The phone rang several times in her ear, and she couldn't help smiling when his voice came on the other end of the line.

"Hey, beautiful. Everything okay? I thought you'd be on a plane by now."

"Emily and I are staying an extra night. She wants to go talk to our father tomorrow."

"How about I come pick you up? We can take my bike over to the beach, watch the sunset, it'll be a great way to clear your head before tomorrow. After, we could grab dinner?" he offered.

Katlyn smiled, "That sounds great. Do you mind if I invite Emily to dinner? I hate to leave her solo all night."

"Yeah, of course. I was going to mention it, but I wasn't sure how well you two were getting on."

"We're...getting there," she said with a laugh.

"Good. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon."

Katlyn hung up and grabbed her phone, shooting a text message to Emily.

 _K- Going out with Mick for awhile. Want to join us for dinner later?_

She realized only after she'd sent the text that she hadn't told her sister about her and Mick's relationship. Emily's reply came almost instantly.

 _E- Great minds...I had thought about calling him myself. I'll definitely meet up with you guys for dinner._

She'd barely read the first text when she got a second one.

 _E- Is something going on with you two?_

Katlyn hesitated before replying. She was pretty sure Emily harbored some sort of feelings for Mick, and didn't want to add to the stress she was sure Emily was already feeling.

 _K- Yes...I wanted to wait and tell you after this thing with dad was done. I didn't want to add to how upset you already were._

 _E- I had a feeling there was more going on there when you got hurt. We'll talk more later._

 _K- That's sort of when everything started with us. Talk to you later._

She hung up her phone and quickly changed clothes, wishing she could gauge better from the tone of the text messages if Emily was upset or not. She'd just pulled her hair back into a ponytail when Mick knocked at the door. She had barely gotten the door open when he pulled her into a searing kiss.

"Hello to you too," Katlyn said breathlessly when they finally pulled apart.

"Hi," Mick grinned, leaning in and placing a much chaster kiss on her lips, "You ready?"

"Definitely," she grinned.

Katlyn had never ridden on a motorcycle before, but she quickly found that she loved the feeling of speeding down the road on the back of Mick's, wind whipping around them. She couldn't think, which was exactly what she needed.

When they reached the beach they took their shoes off and put them in the compartment under the seat, along with their helmets. They walked for awhile in companionable silence before Mick finally spoke.

"How are you doing?"

Katlyn shrugged, "I don't know. I don't want to see him again, but Emily needs closure and I want to be there for her. I just...I'm so angry at him."

"You have every right to be. Hell, I wanted to rip his head off for hurting you the way he did."

Katlyn smiled, "Well, I promise if this conversation goes as badly as the last one did. You can have free rein to do so."

They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Katlyn spoke again.

"So tell me about your family. I just realized I've never heard much about them."

"My father was British Special Forces, my mother stayed home to raise me and my little sister, Jenna. When I was nineteen, my father was killed in combat. It destroyed my mother, they'd just celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary. My mother and Jenna are still in England, I can't wait to introduce you to them one day."

Katlyn reached over and took Mick's hand, squeezing it tightly, "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

Mick leaned over and kissed her temple, "It's fine, love."

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

That evening they met up with Emily at the hotel restaurant. Katlyn noticed Emily's eyes flick to her and Mick's interlocked fingers as they approached, but she kept her face neutral. She wished she could read her sister's mind and have some idea of where her head was.

Dinner mostly consisted of painfully polite small talk. Emily and Katlyn had sort of begun mending their relationship, but the more dinner progressed, the more Katlyn felt her dating Mick had set them back. Mick had tried every which way possible to keep the conversation at dinner flowing, talking about some of the funnier antics that had happened on the first case he'd worked with Emily, making a couple remarks about Katlyn's time at the academy...even turning to the heavier subject about their meeting with their father the next day, but Emily's responses had been short and she and Mick had ended up carrying most of the conversation themselves.

After dinner was over and Katlyn had walked Mick out, apologizing to him profusely for the awkwardness that had been dinner, Katlyn made her way back up to the hotel room.

"If you didn't want to come, you could have just said so," she said, glaring at her sister as she entered the room.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, looking over from the book in her hands.

"We practically had to force conversation out of you, Em. That was the most awkward dinner I've ever suffered through, and we used to have strangers in our house for dinner constantly."

"I'm sorry, okay. I felt like a third wheel the whole time. I'm still trying to navigate being around him now that he's with you, our exchanges in the past were mostly...flirtatious banter."

Katlyn sighed, "You know, the chances of us ending up hung up on the same guy, had to be pretty small. Especially considering how long we went without speaking to or seeing each other, yet here we are."

Emily let out an almost bitter laugh, "Tell me about it."

"I don't want this to set us back, Em. I feel like we were finally starting to be on the same page again."

"So did I...Look we'll work this out, it's just going to take some getting used to and adjusting on my part."

Katlyn nodded, she couldn't really ask for anything else.

" _I will not make  
The same mistakes that you did  
I will not let myself  
Cause my heart so much misery" _

" _Because Of You" Kelly Clarkson_

The five hour trip to see her father wasn't one Katlyn had planned on, or was looking forward to making again, but she knew Emily needed closure too, she had never been as close to her father as Emily had, Emily had a lot more pain to deal with.

Katlyn spun around in her father's office chair. She'd been surprised when the secretary had sent them in without question, only telling them he was in a meeting and they'd have to wait to see him. She was getting restless, they'd been waiting forty-five minutes already.

Finally, the door opened and their father walked in, absorbed in a file he was holding, not even seeing his guests.

"Hi daddy," Emily said, a sarcastic edge to her voice.

He jumped, the file falling from his hands, eyes settling on Emily, then Katlyn.

"Girls," he said, shock evident in his voice, even though he was obviously trying to regain composure, "Why are you here?" he asked, once he'd steadied his voice.

"Seventeen years is an awful long time to go between visits, don't you think? We want answers, better than the sorry line of bullshit you gave Katlyn." Emily replied, glaring at her father.

Katlyn rose from her father's chair and moved to sit beside Emily. Her father sat in the abandoned chair and ran his hands over his face. She was reminded strongly of the night he'd told them he was leaving, when they'd still believed he cared.

"What do you want to know?" he asked finally.

"How long before the divorce did you meet Amber?" Katlyn asked, figuring it best to get the basics over with.

"Just over a year, but your mother and I hadn't been in love for a long time, we fell out of love, or at least I did, when she fell in love with politics."

"And she didn't know about us?"

"She didn't know I had a family at all, and I was afraid if I told her she'd walked away, I loved her and couldn't bear for that to happen."

"So what were we, extra baggage you didn't want to deal with?" Emily raved.

"Emily, I knew you girls would be fine with your mother, if there was one thing she loved more than politics, it was you girls."

Emily laughed, "Touching story, really, must have been nice to walk away and not wonder where we were everyday, if we were okay, like we did you."

"Emily…you don't know how many times I've hated myself for leaving you girls…"

"Not enough to track us down, make a phone call, send a letter."

"I know, I'm sorry, but it's too late to change things now, I can't risk losing another family," he said, anguish filling his voice.

"Of course not," Emily said, rising to her feet, "Have a nice life Mr. Webber," she said before storming out of the office, Katlyn close at her heels.

Emily was silent for the entire ride back, only giving a clipped "Fine," to Katlyn when she'd asked if she was alright. She had dropped Katlyn off at the hotel, telling her she needed some time to think and would be back later, before pulling off. Katlyn made her way up to her room, sending a quick text to Mick to let him know they'd arrived back safely. He offered to come by, but she declined, thoroughly exhausted and just wanting to take a hot shower and climb into bed, promising she'd meet up with him the following morning before they left.

 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter jumped around a bit too much. I separated it into scenes the best I could, but wanted to get all of the content in because I pretty much have the next chapter planned out.**


	6. Chapter 5- Falling To Pieces

**Chapter 5- Falling To Pieces**

" _You're sick of feeling numb  
You're not the only one  
I'll take you by the hand  
And I'll show you a world that you can understand  
This life is filled with hurt  
When happiness doesn't work  
Trust me, and take my hand  
When the lights go out, you'll understand"_

" _Pain" -Three Days Grace_

 **Emily**

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"Gin and Tonic" she said.

The bartender brought her drink, and she sat stirring it aimlessly, not even sure why she was there. She didn't want to go back to the hotel, too much time to think, the noise of the club stripped that ability, it was too loud to even form a coherent thought, let alone dwell on them.

"Rough day?" a voice came from beside her.

Emily turned and found that Mick had taken the barstool beside hers.

"You could say that," she said.

"I take it things didn't go well?" he asked, eyes searching hers.

"No, it didn't, he's built a whole new life for himself and nobody in it even knows we exist, and I feel so stupid because I spent years thinking he'd show back up with some grand excuse for where he'd been. That he actually gave a damn about us."

Mick reached over and squeezed her hand lightly, "I'm sorry things didn't work out with your dad, I really am."

She had never seen this side of Mick Rawson before, the side of him that was caring, the side of him that wasn't always cocky and egotistical. They fell into easy conversation as they sat and drank. By the time it was over they were both pretty wasted, and called a cab to come get them. She and Mick stepped out into the warm night air to wait on the cab, still talking and before she knew it talking had turned into kissing…

By the next morning Emily wouldn't remember inviting Mick up to her room, or how rapidly there clothes disappeared. His lips trailed down her body, finding every curve, gentle in some places, more demanding and passionate in others.

When Emily woke up the next morning her head was pounding, she sat up and saw that her clothes were scattered across the floor, her clothes and someone elses. She turned to find Mick in the bed beside her, and jumped from the bed, grabbing her clothes and shutting herself in the bathroom.

 _Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell,_ she thought staring in the mirror, what had she done? _I slept with my sister's boyfriend, that's what._ At that moment she'd absolutely hated herself, and chastised herself for also hating that she remembered none of the previous night. She threw on her clothes and went back out into the bedroom to find Mick stirring, he opened his eyes and glanced to the side opposite Emily.

"Katlyn," he half called groggily.

 _Great, he thinks he slept with my sister, well of course he does, that's who he's dating after all,_ she thought angrily.

"Wrong," she said, causing his eyes to widen as he turned to face her.

"Emily," he practically choked on her name, a mixture of emotion flooding his face,

"What, what happened?"

"We got drunk and slept together apparently," she said bluntly.

"Oh god," Mick said, fumbling to get his clothes on, "When she finds out…"

Emily bit down on the inside of her lower lip, if Katlyn found out, she would hate her, she would hate both of them, and while things with Katlyn were still rocky, she didn't want to destroy the small part of the relationship they'd rebuilt.

"What if she didn't find out," she hadn't realized she'd said it aloud until he turned to her.

"What?" he asked exasperated.

"If she finds out, she's going to hate both of us, this whole thing only happened because we were drunk, why let it cost us our relationships with Katlyn?"

Mick sat down in one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands.

"Do you know she's the first girl I've ever considered being in a serious relationship with? And I had to go and do this!" he exclaimed angrily, Emily could tell it wasn't really directed at anyone.

Someone knocking on the room's door caused them both to jump.

 **Katlyn**

Katlyn glanced at her phone, wondering why Mick hadn't returned her text. If they were going to meet up as they'd planned, he was going to have to hurry.

"Hey," Emily said, opening the door and stepping into the hallway, "What's up?"

"Well, I was going to let you know that I was going to meet up with Mick and that I'd meet you at the airport… I text him on my way downstairs to check out, but he hasn't responded," she said, "So now, I was going to see if I could hang out in here until he does or until we leave?" she asked, as she sent a second message to him.

"Umm.." Emily stuttered as Katlyn looked up when she heard Mick's text tone go off from inside the room.

Her eyes widened, and she pushed past her sister into the room, it was empty but the bathroom door was shut and she saw Mick's phone laying on the nightstand, his shirt draped over a chair. She couldn't believe this was happening, she'd just gotten things back on track with her sister and now this. She looked behind her to see Emily had followed her into the room, looking embarrassed.

"Mick," she said, her voice rising just above its normal tone, "You might as well come out of the bathroom. If you want to keep something like this a secret, I suggest silencing your cell phone next time."

He came out, looking defeated, "Katlyn, I can explain…"

"What's to explain?" she asked trying to keep her voice from breaking, herself from breaking, "You slept with Emily, that much is obvious."

"Katlyn, we were drunk…" Emily started.

"Oh and that makes it better!" she said turning on her sister, "Let me guess, you were drunk and upset and he just happened to be a shoulder to cry on, save it please, both of you," she said pushing past them and out the door.

" _Now I'm trying to make sense of what little remains_

 _C_ _ause you left me with no love and no love to my name._

 _I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing_

 _j_ _ust praying to a god that I don't believe in…_

 _C_ _ause when a heart breaks no it don't break even."_

 _"_ _Breakeven" -_ _The Script_

"Katlyn, at least let me explain," Emily pleaded.

They were back at the bureau, and Katlyn wondered how many more times she was going to have to tell Emily she didn't want to hear it. She turned to her sister, doing her best to keep her voice calm.

"Emily, this is really not the time nor the place for this conversation, and frankly I don't care to partake in it period." she hissed

She quickly realized she wasn't doing a great job of keeping the conversation inconspicuous. JJ, Derek, Garcia and Spencer had become far more interested in them than the card game they'd been playing. Perfect, just what she needed, the whole team wondering what was going on.

It was everything she could do not to break down as she sat at her desk filing her report. She may have only been dating Mick for a few days, but she'd had feelings for him since she'd been in the academy and his betrayal was killing her. She turned in her report to Hotch, and headed home to change into running clothes, then went to the park and took to one of the longest jogging trails, she didn't want to think for awhile.

"Katlyn!" a voice called from behind her.

She turned to see Derek jogging toward her, and paused to give him a chance to catch up.

"Damn girl, you're fast," he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"I wasn't aware anyone was trying to catch up with me,"

"Yeah, well, you seemed pretty upset at the office and I know you haven't had a chance to really get to know any of us yet, but I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She smiled, "I appreciate that Derek, I really do, but how did you find me?"

He shifted slightly, "I had Garcia trace your cell phone. So, what's going on?"

Katlyn went over to a nearby bench and sat down, Derek following close behind.

"I really don't want to get into the whole story, but to make it short the family member we were paying a visit to was out father, who left when we were young and never looked back. After the confrontation with him, Emily went to a bar and apparently ran into Mick, they proceeded to get drunk and sleep together."

She could see shock fill the dark agent's eyes, but before he could say anything her cell rang. She picked it up and looked at the ID, Mick's name flashed across it.

"Of course it's him," she sighed.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" Derek asked holding out his hand for the phone.

"I'm not going to ask you to get involved in this, Derek."

"You're not asking I'm offering," he said taking the phone from her.

 **Mick**

" _They say bad things happen for a reason_

 _B_ _ut no wise words gonna stop the bleeding."_

 _"_ _Breakeven" -_ _The Script_

Mick listened as the phone rang for the third time, sighing as he assumed she wasn't going to pick up. Not that he could blame her.

"Katlyn's phone," a male voice answered.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"It's Derek," he said, agitation prominent in his voice.

 _Of course,_ Mick thought, _Derek Morgan had always been protective, to say the least, of his female teammates._

"Can you please give the phone to Katlyn?" he asked, aware of the disparity in his voice.

"I could, but I won't, she doesn't want to talk to you right now and I'm not going to let you upset her anymore than she already is."

"Look Derek, all I want to do is tell her I'm sorry,"

"Oh, we all know you're sorry," Derek replied.

"You have every right to be angry at me, and I don't blame Katlyn for not wanting to talk to me, but please tell her I'm sorry, I made a mistake, one of the worst mistakes I've ever made, but I do care about her."

"Alright," Derek said, "But do me a favor, don't call her back, if she wants to talk to you, she'll call," he said before hanging up.

Mick slammed his phone down on the desk, how could he have let this happen? How could he fix it?

 **Katlyn**

Derek handed the phone back to Katlyn.

"He said to tell you he's sorry, that he made a mistake, but he really does care about you."

"He'll understand if I have trouble believing that," she said a single tear slipping down her cheek.

" _Say you're sorry_

 _T_ _hat face of an angel_

 _C_ _omes out just when you need it to_

 _A_ _s I pace back and forth all this time_

 _'C_ _ause I honestly believed in you."_

 _"_ _White Horse" -_ _Taylor Swift_

 _ **A/N: *ducks* Don't hate me!**_


	7. Chapter 6- One Shot, One Kill

_**Chapter 6- One Shot, One Kill**_

 *****Case mentioned in this chapter is episode 1x04 of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior**

Katlyn picked her phone up on the second ring, she furrowed her brow, recognizing the area code but not the number. She briefly hesitated before hitting the button to answer the phone, wondering if after the numerous times she'd declined his calls, Mick had used someone else's phone to get her to answer.

"Agent Prentiss," she answered.

"Katlyn, it's Sam Cooper," Katlyn felt her heart sink, fearing the worst.

Yes, she was angry at Mick, but it didn't change the fact that she loved him. If something had happened, If he was..., she couldn't even finish the last thought.

"Did something happen to Mick?" she blurted, skipping over any greeting exchange.

"No, no, he's fine. Well physically fine, mentally maybe not so much."

"What happened?"

"We're in Chicago, on a case. We're looking for a sniper and the guy we're looking for, he's toying with Mick. He sent Mick a pager and it goes off every time he makes another kill. The word "bang" twice and two people dead."

"Snipers are fiercely competitive. If he sees Mick as a threat...he'll keep tormenting him."

"I know and Katlyn, you know Mick, you know what this is doing to him..."

"I do. I'm going to get the first flight out I can," she stated, not needing Cooper to ask.

Four and a half hours later, she was driving to the Chicago field office. The team had just arrived back there after managing to stop the sniper's latest attempt. Katlyn checked in at the desk and was directed to where the team was set up. She saw Mick and froze, suddenly having no idea how to do this. She needed...wanted to be there for him, but she was still angry, and seeing him made that anger resurface. Then he looked up, not seeing her, but she saw his eyes as he talked to Gina, they were dead, haunted. Her feet moved towards the room they were set up in and she knocked lightly on the door. Four pairs of eyes met hers and she caught the relieved smile on Cooper's lips.

"Katlyn," Mick said, crossing the room to her.

Her lips seemed incapable of forming words, so she settled for stepping forwards and hugging him, "Hey," she finally managed to whisper.

Cooper stood, "Alright, why don't we all take a break, grab some food."

Everyone agreed gratefully and Katlyn and Mick headed for her rental car. Both were acutely aware of their surroundings given the current situation. They went to a small cafe and found a small corner table where they could talk.

"Katlyn..." Mick started.

Katlyn simply shook her head, "Don't worry about that right now," she said simply, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm..." she had a feeling he'd started to say fine, but then he stopped, "I'm a wreck. This guy is killing people and acting like it's for my benefit and now, he's going to change everything, because we got so close to stopping him. More people are going to die and it's to prove something to me, and I can't stop it," he said bitterly.

Katlyn reached across and took his hand, "You're wrong. He picked the wrong sniper to go up against. You're one of the best, Mick, you just need to clear your head, look at this again."

He let out a small laugh, "You make that sound so easy, Katlyn. I haven't had a clear head since we got here, mainly because of what I did to you."

"Well, I'm here now, and I'm not going to leave until this is over and we've talked. So quit worrying about that, put everything you have into this."

When they got back to the field office, Katlyn and Mick realized they were the first back, so they took the opportunity to sit and go over the case.

"So this guy is trying to impress you...why?" Katlyn asked aloud.

"Ego boost?" Mick mused, "Snipers are fiercely competitive."

"Could be, but this seems like more than that," she said just as Cooper and the others reentered the room.

"Cooper has a pretty good theory," Gina said, taking a seat beside Katlyn.

"We profiled that this guy was young, right? What if he learned what he knows from his father? And Mick is just a convenient surrogate for him to show off to?"

Katlyn nodded, it made sense, "We all want our parent's approval, and if dad was a marksman, it would make sense he taught his son."

From there they made a phone call to Garcia, who quickly found Master Sargent Wheeler, a deceased sniper, who's son had gone to high school with the victim they'd found who was connected to the weapon being used in the current shootings.

Katlyn talked Cooper into letting her go with them to the unsub's house. Really, it hadn't taken much convincing, no one thought having a second marksman around was a bad idea considering. Katlyn was no Mick, but she'd gotten pretty good with the sniper rifles when they'd been in academy, and had made use of those skills a couple times since.

The house was deserted when they arrived, but they found a program for the memorial gathering for Jason's father. When they arrived at the memorial service, his sister approached Cooper immediately, jumping straight to the conclusion that something had happened to Jason. He should have been there, she explained, but it became quickly evident that his intentions were to target the event, not attend it.

Cooper sent Mick to find a perch on the roof, and Katlyn grabbed his hand as he headed for the stairs.

"Be careful," she said softly.

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss, "Always," he promised, heading up the stairs.

Everything from there seemed to unfold in slow motion, the late comer to the memorial getting shot, Gina running to his aid and getting fired at, Mick diverting the sniper's attention to himself and making himself an open target. They moved quickly to the floor Mick told them that Jason was on, and Katlyn found herself holding her breath. Cooper had his gun against the boy's head before the boy even realized he was there.

"I can make the shot," she heard Mick's voice through the earpiece.

She knew Mick wanted to make the shot, knew he felt the need to be the one to take him down. Cooper managed to disarm him though and Katlyn watched Mick drop his rifle and run his hands over his face.

Once they were back on the ground, Katlyn could see Mick was angry about not being able to make the shot. She also knew that once he thought about it, once the adrenaline had worn down and he thought about it, he'd be glad he didn't. She made her way to his side as Jason was loaded into a police car, placing her hand on his arm.

"I need a drink," he sighed, "Care to join me?"

Katlyn was hesitant. She knew that going with him, the conversation would turn to what had happened to Emily, and felt that was a conversation better left for clear heads and when they both weren't already exhausted. She also knew that Mick needed someone to talk to after what had happened.

"Sure," she said.

An hour or so later, they were sitting across from each other in a bar near the Chicago field office. Katlyn turned her drink around absently in her hands.

"I have to say, I was surprised when you showed up here," Mick said, drawing her attention from her drink.

"Cooper called me, told me what was going on."

"I'm still surprised, given the circumstances."

Katlyn closed her eyes, "When Cooper was on the other end of that phone call, I was afraid something had happened, that you'd been seriously hurt or even killed… I felt like I couldn't breathe. I may be angry at you Mick, but it doesn't mean I stopped caring."

"I'm so sorry, Katlyn. I hate that I hurt you, that I made you doubt my feelings for you. I don't know why I did what I did, all I can say is it was the alcohol and I'm an idiot."

"What happened with Emily, is exactly what I was afraid of when it came to getting involved with you,"she said softly, "If I wasn't here right now, and you'd come to get drinks, you would probably end up picking up some girl and taking her back to your apartment. I'm not a girl who's okay being one of the many, Mick."

"I don't want you to be. I'm sure you're also assuming I've had bad nights since you left last time, and I've been with other women, I haven't. I hate myself for the look in your eyes when we were standing in that hotel room. I hate myself more now knowing that you dropped everything and came here because I needed you. Just tell me what I need to do to prove myself to you again, and I'll do it."

"We just have to rebuild trust… I'm willing to try and work through this, it's just going to take time. Are you sure you want this though? That there's not some feeling for my sister you still have or that the next drunken temptation won't lead to the same thing?"

"Yes," he said, leaning across the table and capturing her lips, "You're it for me, Katlyn."

 _ _Oh, I was a wreck  
I hit my knees till they were bruised  
I've given up  
It felt like all that I could do  
I walked the line  
Until the line was just a blur  
And love was out of reach, and faith was just a word__

 _Oh, I've been searching, I've been praying_  
 _I've been hurt, and I've been patient_  
 _I've been lost and found again_  
 _Waiting for my Amen!_  
 _Looking at you now I believe_  
 _Someone up there is looking out for me_  
 _And I know how my prayer ends_  
 _Baby, you're my Amen!_

 _" _Amen" -Hunter Hayes__


	8. Chapter 7- The Longest Night

_**AN: Just a heads up, the next few chapters will center strongly around Season 6 of Criminal Minds.**_

 _ **Chapter 7:**_ _ **The Longest Night**_

 _ **Mick POV**_

Mick groaned at the banging on his front door. He cracked an eye open and glanced at the clock, 8:03AM, he'd only been asleep about four and a half hours.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he yelled, getting up and pulling on a pair of sweat pants before heading to the door.

"About time," the woman on the other side exclaimed, breezing past him into the apartment once he opened the door.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" he asked, gathering her up into a tight hug, "I would have picked you up at the airport."

"I wanted to surprise you," she said.

Mick held her back at arms length, "You've really got to quit growing up so much between visits," he sighed, studying her.

"I'm not your baby sister anymore, Mick," she laughed.

"You'll always be my baby sister, Jenna. I just have to get used to you being all grown up."

Jenna kissed his cheek, "You'll get there. Now, I'm starving, let's grab breakfast and catch up."

Twenty-five minutes later found them seated at a cafe a block from Mick's apartment.

"So what's new with you?" Jenna asked as she cut apart her french toast.

"I got a new bike a few months ago, and I'm seeing someone, other than that not much."

"Seeing someone? Tell me more and when do I get to meet her?" Jenna grinned.

Mick told his sister everything, about the academy, running into her again, even what had happened with Emily. He and Jenna had never kept secrets from each other. They were walking back to his apartment when his text alert went off.

"You may be meeting Katlyn sooner than expected if I can catch up with her. That was Cooper, her team is in the area working a case. Well, in L.A., but maybe she can work out staying another day."

 _ **Katlyn POV**_

"Los Angeles, California, five days ago these two women were raped, tortured and killed," she brought two pictures up on the projector, "Three days later this woman was repeatedly raped in front of her husband, who was later killed, the wife however seems to have intentionally been left alive."

"How do we know the cases are connected?" Derek asked.

"We don't, but both took place during the area's rolling blackouts, which was enough to give the authorities pause." she explained.

The team arrived in L.A. to find the station in obvious chaos, and were quickly introduced to Detective Nick Spicer, who was in charge of the case.

"The city is in the midst of the worse heat wave in years, which is why we started the rolling blackouts, and now I've got some crazed psychopath praying on people during them!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Why don't you just turn the power back on?" Rossi asked.

"We do that, we risk sending him back into hiding or worse blowing power to the whole city," Katlyn said pointedly.

"Your agent is right, that's the exact reason we haven't turned the power back on in the first place." Spicer said.

Not three hours later they received a phone call from Garcia explaining that she'd found similar cases stretching over the past three decades, the last spree in the area being in 1984, and that the man had left a baby alive, even more shocking was the fact that the baby was detective Nick Spicer, his parents having been among his first victims.

Katlyn exchanged surprised looks with Derek, Spicer had told them his parents had been killed in a car accident.

Not an hour later the entire team had been separated and were in complete oblivion to where the others were. The police had decided to turn the power back on and as they'd worried it had caused a complete blackout, and loss of cell service.

Derek and Spicer had been on their way to Spicer's sister's house, but when the team got there it was deserted. Katlyn felt a shiver of unease course through her body. They quickly established that the man had taken them to Spicer's childhood home and headed there.

When they arrived Derek was tied up on the floor, beaten, Spicer had been shot and his sister was bound and gagged on the bed, Spicer's daughter Ellie had been kidnapped by the unsub.

" _There's some things we don't talk about, rather do without." The Fray_

It was amazing what could happen in twenty-four hours, Katlyn couldn't believe it had only been that long, it was the worse case she'd ever worked. She couldn't stop thinking about poor Ellie Spicer, and as she glanced over at Derek, she knew she wasn't the only one. This case had been the hardest on him, he blamed himself for Nick's death and what Ellie had endured. She reached over and put her hand on top of his, squeezing it reassuringly, not able to find any words to say.

They were all ready to go home, but Hotch had insisted they get some hotel rooms and rest up first, especially Derek who hadn't stopped even though he'd suffered a concussion. When they walked in to the hotel, she was so wrapped up in thought that she wasn't even paying attention to her surroundings.

"Katlyn!"

She turned to see Mick rising from one of the chairs in the lobby.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking over and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Cooper heard you guys were here and working a pretty serious case, after that it wasn't that difficult to figure out where you'd be staying." he replied, letting one arm circle her waist and bring the other hand up to her hair.

She was perfectly content to stay exactly as she was, but knew the rest of the team was watching curiously from behind and pulled away. He leaned down and picked up her bag putting it over his shoulder, then secured his arm back around her waist as they walked over to the team.

Katlyn was all to aware of Emily's stiffening posture as they neared, and Mick exchanged niceties with the rest of the team. Everyone finally cleared out, Derek taking Katlyn's bag up to their room, and leaving Mick and Katlyn alone in the lobby.

"Can I take you out to dinner?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she smiled.

He led her out to the parking lot and over to where his motorcycle was parked. She hadn't been sure he still had it, the last time she'd been on it was when they'd gone out while she was still in the academy. He pulled the spare helmet out and handed it to her, and she quickly strapped it on before sliding on behind him.

She clung to his waist as they sped through the streets, letting the speed and Mick's closeness replace her thoughts of the case. It wasn't until they were at the restaurant, seated across from each other, that she explained the previous day's events.

"When Cooper heard on the radio about the case and that the FBI had become involved he called Strauss to find out which unit, and I pretty much took off as soon as he said yours. I got in touch with your tech analyst to find out where you'd be staying," he explained.

Katlyn smiled and absentmindedly began fiddling with her fork,

"I'm really glad you came," she said finally, "I've been thinking about how much I wished you were so I could tell you everything that happened all day."

Mick smiled, "All you had to do was call."

"Actually, I'd planned on flying home commercial so I could stay for part of the day tomorrow, drive down and see you."

"Well, you still should. My sister is in town and would love to meet you."

 _"_ _The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could. First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything." Snow Patrol_


	9. Chapter 8 Authors Note

Authors Note: Hi guys! Thanks so much for sticking with me on this story and for your encouragement to keep it going :) I have not abandoned it, I promise! Life has just been crazy over the past couple months, but things are slowing down and I have the next chapter started, so look for an update hopefully this coming weekend!


	10. Chapter 8- My Love

**A/N: Hopefully this makes up for my prolonged absence ;)**

Katlyn had become increasingly nervous about meeting Mick's sister. From what he'd talked about her, she knew the two were incredibly close, despite the distance between them, and that her approval or disapproval would be important to Mick.

"You seem anxious, love," Mick remarked, as they pulled up in front of his apartment building.

"I'm just worried your sister won't like me," she admitted.

Mick reached over and turned her face towards his before leaning across and placing a light kiss on her lips, "She's going to love you, don't worry."

When they reached Mick's apartment, he led her inside. His sister stood at the stove, but turned her attention from the pot she was stirring as soon as the door opened. There was no denying that woman was Mick's sister, they had the same warm, brown eyes, and infectious smile.

"You must be Katlyn," his sister said with a grin, crossing the distance from the kitchen to the living room and engulfing her in a hug.

"It's nice to meet you," Katlyn replied, returning the hug.

"Mick, I sat a bottle of wine out. Will you pour it in the glasses? Dinner is almost ready."

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble," Katlyn said, "but it smells wonderful."

"It's no trouble, really. I enjoy it, plus I don't get a chance to cook for my big brother often," with that she turned her attention to Mick, "Which brings me to the question of, what do you eat when I'm not around? Your refrigerator and cupboards were literally almost bare, save a box of cereal...which you don't even have milk for, and a couple bags of chips."

"Takeout generally. I'm not exactly a gourmet chef, and I'm the only one that lives here. Why would I cook a big meal just for me?"

"How about because takeout is horrible for you? I don't want you to die an early death from not taking care of yourself."

Katlyn laughed, "If that's the case, then Mick and I are both doomed to early deaths. The closest thing I normally come to taking time for a home cooked meal is a box of mac and cheese or heating up jarred pasta sauce and cooking pasta."

Jenna sighed, "I guess I'll just be happy that he kicked that horrible smoking habit he picked up in high school."

"I will say I never found an appeal to smoking myself," Katlyn agreed.

Jenna laughed, "Mick over here wanted to look like a bad boy. Mom used to want to kill him before he straightened up."

"It's not like I stayed in trouble constantly. I just didn't have the educational drive you did. I made sure I passed, I just didn't care what percentage I did it by so much. I hated school, it's why I went into the military."

Jenna smiled, "I will say you found your place quickly after that. He moved through the ranks quicker than I thought was possible. He was Special Forces when he left to come join Cooper. I still get amused that you taught at the FBI academy though, you were never the most patient person."

"He was one of the best teachers I had," Katlyn said, "That's actually where we met."

"Mick left that part out, he said you two worked together, that was it."

"We do now. He was my instructor two years ago, then I joined the BAU and Cooper sent him to our team for assistance with a case."

"And the rest was history," Jenna grinned.

Once the three of them finished up dinner, they chatted a bit longer before Jenna headed back to her hotel room.

"What time does your flight leave?" Mick asked, wrapping his arms around Katlyn's waist.

"Nine fifteen. I got the latest flight I could."

"So we have some time to kill then," he said, leaning down and brushing his lips over her jaw.

"It would seem so. Any ideas?"

"I can think of a couple," he said, trailing his lips down her throat.

"So far I like where this idea is going," she said, trailing her hands down his chest.

She could feel him smile against her neck before he pulled away and pulled her t-shirt over her head. He tossed the shirt aside before capturing her lips in a deep kiss.

" _That rolling the dice, look in your eyes  
Too hot to touch  
The fire in the eyes fantasy nights  
Never too much  
Young blood, my love  
It's more than enough to, fire me up."_

" _Young Blood" Hunter Hayes_

It didn't take long before Katlyn lay on Mick's bed, only her bra and underwear remaining, as he hovered above her. His fingers traced a scar just below her collar bone.

"You were shot," he said softly, before replacing his fingers with his lips.

Katlyn let out a small gasp as his lips brushed the scar, "Not too long after I got out of the academy. Abusive father kidnapped his son, we tracked him down, he wasn't too happy about it."

She let her fingers brushed a raised line on his stomach, "What about you? When did you get this?"

Mick laughed, "I wish I had some heroic story to go with that wound...but I got in a knife fight in high school."

They spent the next several minutes like that, memorizing each other's bodies, meeting each imperfection with soft caresses and featherlight kisses. By the time his lips found hers again, her body was like a live wire from anticipation.

Both completely undressed now, Katlyn shivered as she felt him brush against her core.

"Mick..." his name left her lips in a breathless plea.

His hand grasped hers as he thrust into her. The pace he set was slow, Mick holding her close, the feeling of his lips on hers and their bodies pressed close left her breathless.

She was the first to reach her orgasm, moaning and clutching on to him for support. Katlyn's legs were shaking, as her body convulsed against his. Mick followed close behind her, rolling them both onto their side, holding her close, once they'd come down from their orgasms.

He kissed her forehead, letting his fingers card through her hair.

"I love you, Katlyn."

"I love you too," she said, kissing him.


End file.
